USR seeks to abolish special admission exams organised by top Romanian high schools

20 August 2026 Romania's reformist Save Romania Union (USR) has submitted a bill seeking to abolish special admission exams that high schools and colleges can organise alongside the national assessment, arguing that the separate examinations deepen inequalities in the education system. The bill was submitted by USR deputy Corina Atanasiu and USR senator Ștefan Pălărie on August 19 and proposes amendments to Pre-university Education Law No. 198/2023, including the repeal of provisions allowing colleges and high schools to organise their own admission competitions for ninth grade. The initiative follows the Ministry of Education and Research's decision to relax the rules governing separate admission examinations. USR argued that the changes could allow top schools to select students on a dis